Data_Sheet_4_Dietary Supplementation of ε-Polylysine Beneficially Affects Ileal Microbiota Structure and Function in Ningxiang Pigs.XLSX

Intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the health of animals. However, little is known about the gut microbiota in Ningxiang pigs. Thus, we investigated how dietary supplementation with different ε-polylysine concentrations (0, 20, 40, 80, and 160 ppm) affected the ileal microbiota in Ningxiang pigs using a replicated 5 × 5 Latin square method. Each experimental period included 10 days for diet adaptation, 3 days for feces collection and 2 days for digesta collection. The ileal contents were collected and used for sequencing of the V3–V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. The results revealed that ε-polylysine significantly decreased the digestibility of crude protein and crude fiber, as well as the utilization of metabolizable energy (P < 0.05). The relative abundances of 19 bacterial genera significantly increased, while those of 26 genera significantly decreased (P < 0.05). In addition, ε-polylysine increased the abundance of some bacteria (e.g., Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium, and lactic acid bacteria) and inhibited some other bacteria (e.g., Micrococcaceae, Acinetobacter, Anaerococcus, Peptoniphilus, Dehalobacterium, Finegoldia, Treponema, and Brevundimonas). Furthermore, based on the 16S rRNA gene data and data from the precalculated GreenGenes database, bacterial communities in the ileal contents exhibited enhanced functional maturation, including changes in the metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids (e.g., alanine, lysine, tryptophan, cysteine, and methionine), cofactors, and vitamins (e.g., biotin, thiamine, and folate), as well as in the activity of the insulin signaling pathway. This study suggests that ε-polylysine may influence the utilization of feed nutrients by Ningxiang pigs, including proteins, lipids, metabolizable energy, and fiber, by regulating the gut microbiota.

肠道菌群（intestinal microbiota）对动物机体健康具有重要作用。然而，目前针对宁乡猪肠道菌群的研究尚少。因此，本研究采用重复5×5拉丁方试验设计，探究不同浓度ε-聚赖氨酸（ε-polylysine，0、20、40、80、160 ppm）的日粮添加方式对宁乡猪回肠菌群的影响。每个试验周期包含10天的日粮适应期、3天的粪便采集期以及2天的食糜采集期。采集回肠食糜并用于16S rRNA基因V3-V4高变区的测序分析。试验结果显示，ε-聚赖氨酸可显著降低粗蛋白质、粗纤维的消化率以及代谢能的利用率（P < 0.05）。19个细菌属的相对丰度显著升高，而26个细菌属的相对丰度显著降低（P < 0.05）。此外，ε-聚赖氨酸可提升部分菌群的丰度，例如粪杆菌属（Faecalibacterium）、双歧杆菌属（Bifidobacterium）与乳酸菌，同时抑制另一部分菌群的生长，例如微球菌科（Micrococcaceae）、不动杆菌属（Acinetobacter）、厌氧球菌属（Anaerococcus）、肽球菌属（Peptoniphilus）、脱卤杆菌属（Dehalobacterium）、金杆菌属（Finegoldia）、密螺旋体属（Treponema）以及短波单胞菌属（Brevundimonas）。此外，基于16S rRNA基因测序数据与预计算的GreenGenes数据库分析结果，回肠食糜中的细菌群落呈现出功能成熟度提升的特征，具体表现为碳水化合物代谢、氨基酸代谢（如丙氨酸、赖氨酸、色氨酸、半胱氨酸与蛋氨酸）、辅因子与维生素代谢（如生物素、硫胺素与叶酸）以及胰岛素信号通路活性的改变。本研究表明，ε-聚赖氨酸可通过调控宁乡猪的肠道菌群，进而影响其对饲料养分（包括蛋白质、脂肪、代谢能与膳食纤维）的利用效率。